Jeremy Hunt has sparked a backlash on social media after tweeting his congratulations to the NHS choir for beating Justin Bieber to the coveted Christmas No 1 spot with their charity single.

The Health Secretary wrote of the victory: 'Congratulations to @Choir_NHS on being Christmas number one! Raising money for some great causes - including @MindCharity and @CarersUK.'

He was met with an outpouring of anger from junior doctors and other NHS staff, many of whom accused him of being 'hypocritical' and not realising the win was a successful 'protest' against him.

The Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir recorded their single, A Bridge Over You, in 2013 - but a campaign was started this year to get it to Christmas No 1 amid the junior doctors' contracts row.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Winners: Jeremy Hunt has sparked a backlash on social media after tweeting his congratulations to the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir (above) for beating Justin Bieber to the coveted Christmas No 1 spot

Congratulations: The Health Secretary wrote of the victory: 'Congratulations to @Choir_NHS on being Christmas number one! Raising money for some great causes - including @MindCharity and @CarersUK'

'It was a protest': He was met with an outpouring of anger from junior doctors and other NHS staff, many of whom accused him of being 'hypocritical' and not realising the win was a successful 'protest' against him

Angry: Medical student Matt Cox said: 'Do not claim this for yourself. This is part of the protest against you'

Lashing out: Dr Amar Mashru, who works in emergency medicine in Lewsiham, told Hunt: 'We don't need your congratulations. We need a health secretary who supports the NHS every day of the year #TimeToListen'

Junior doctors across the country claim changes to their contract, proposed by Hunt, will result in significant cuts to their pay and an increase in anti-social shifts, risking the lives of NHS patients.

And over the past 24 hours, they and other medics have hit out at the Health Secretary en masse.

In response to Hunt's tweet about the choir's success, which was posted yesterday afternoon, MacMillan nurse Phil Whelan told the politician: 'It's also a protest against you and your mates!'

Meanwhile, Dr Amar Mashru, who works in Lewsiham, wrote: 'We don't need your congratulations. We need a health secretary who supports the NHS every day of the year #TimeToListen.'

Share this article

Some medics highlighted a quote by former health secretary Aneurin Bevan that appears at the end of the choir's music video, saying it proves the campaign was a 'massive two fingers' to Hunt.

The quote reads: 'The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it.'

The words, 'Do you #LoveYourNHS? Let's join together and say I DO,' then flash on the screen.

Overjoyed: Members of the choir, Katie Rogerson (left, children’s doctor) and Caroline Smith (children’s physiotherapist) pose with their Official Christmas Number 1 Award from the Official Charts Company

'Jumping on the bandwagon':The choir recorded their single, A Bridge Over You, in 2013 - but a campaign was started this year to get it to Christmas No 1 amid the junior doctors' contracts row. Above, a nurse's response

'Cry for help': One doctor told Hunt the charity single is 'clearly a cry for help against you and your agenda'

An Irish doctor working in England told Hunt the single is 'clearly a cry for help against you and your agenda,' while Dr Bill Gibson told him: 'It was a protest against your policies, your lies, and you.'

Explanation: The medic, who specialises in anesthesia, later wrote to check the politician had got his irony

Health Secretary: Junior doctors across the country claim changes to their contract, proposed by Hunt (above) will result in cuts to their pay and an increase in anti-social shifts, risking the lives of NHS patients

They finished with a total combined chart sales of more than 127,000 copies. In contrast, Bieber sold around 97,000 copies of his single, according to a press release sent to MailOnline.

Bieber's hit Sorry scored third place in the chart, while his song What Do You Mean came fifth.

Yesterday, the pop icon took to Twitter to congratulate the NHS choir on their success, writing: 'Just heard the news. Amazing. That is what Christmas is all about. @Choir_NHS congrats!! Very cool.'

Meanwhile, the choir told OfficialCharts.com their win was 'brilliant news' for NHS workers.

'We are absolutely overwhelmed and couldn’t be any happier,' they said.

'It’s a brilliant celebration for the NHS across the country so well done and thank you everyone for downloading and streaming. A massive cheer for the NHS, thank you.'

All proceeds from the single will go to a selection of charities, including Carers UK and Mind.

The battle for Christmas No 1 was the closest seen since Rage Against The Machine’s scintillating victory over The X Factor’s Joe McElderry in 2009 with their song, Killing In The Name.

Global superstar: The choir's victory came after Bieber (pictured last month) urged his fans in a series of tweets to 'do the right thing' and vote for Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir's song, instead of Love Yourself

'Very cool': Yesterday, the pop icon took to Twitter to congratulate the NHS choir on their success, writing: 'Just heard the news. Amazing. That is what Christmas is all about. @Choir_NHS congrats!! Very cool'

The NHS choir of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, midwives and administration staff appeared on the first series of Gareth Malone's BBC Two show, 'The Choir: Sing While You Work', in 2012.

They came runners up in the programme. The following year, they independently released their now-Number One single, A Bridge Over You, leaving many listeners close to tears.

The single is a blend of Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water and Coldplay’s Fix You.

Physiotherapist Caroline Harbord, 50, who is part of the choir, had previously said that securing a Number One would help raise morale in the NHS.

During his Twitter campaign to get the choir to the top of the chart, Bieber told his 72million followers: 'I'm hearing this UK Christmas race is close ... but the NHS Choir single is for charity.

'So for one week it's OK not to be number one.

'Let's do the right thing and help them win. It's Christmas. NHS Choir good luck.'

The 22-year-old Canadian star also tweeted a link to the single's dedicated website.

Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company said yesterday's chart announcement - made by BBC Radio 1 - was a 'fantastic result' and a 'success' for the National Health Service.

Waiting: The NHS choir told OfficialCharts.com their win was 'brilliant news' for NHS workers across Britain. Above, choir members look nervous as they wait to hear whether they have taken the Number 1 spot

Delighted: The singers jump for joy as the announcement is made. The battle for Christmas No 1 was the closest seen since Rage Against The Machine’s scintillating win over The X Factor’s Joe McElderry in 2009

Twitter campaign: Bieber said: 'Let's do the right thing and help them win. It's Christmas. NHS Choir good luck'

'What a fantastic result for the NHS Choir to claim the 2015 Christmas Number 1,' he said.

'There will be thousands of NHS staff across the country working through Christmas Day, while the rest of the nation is putting its feet up - this success is for them.

'There couldn't be a more deserving group of winners.'

Although the choir defeated their rival by a cool three copies to one on downloads, but were no match for Bieber on streaming services, as Love Yourself racked up nearly 5.2million streams.

OFFICIAL SINGLES CHART: TOP 5

1 - A Bridge Over You, Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir

2 - Love Yourself, Justin Bieber

3 - Sorry, Justin Bieber

4 - Hello, Adele

5 - What Do You Mean, Justin Bieber

This meant it was the most streamed track of the week in Britain.

William Hill told MailOnline the choir's victory had provided a 'sizeable winner' for the bookmaker.

The firm is offering to donate all winnings on the market to the charities supported by the choir.

'The NHS Choir were a late entry into the race and as such were a relatively winner for us but even bookies can embrace the spirit of Christmas from time to time,' said spokesman Joe Crilly.

'We are happy to support such a great cause.'

Yesterday afternoon, Harriet Nerva - the 26-year-old junior doctor who started the campaign to get the choir's single to Christmas Number One - said she decided to do so to boost NHS staff morale.

Ms Nerva, who started the campaign at the end of October, following the death of a patient she had been looking after for a number of weeks, told the Press Association: 'I went home and listened to the song, and it brought it all back to me how proud I am to work for the NHS. I thought what better way of celebrating it than getting it to Number One in the charts at Christmas.

'The NHS is going through a tough time, staff don't feel valued. We're in the middle of a junior doctors' contract dispute and nurses are having a really tough time because of understaffing and overworking. There's generally a feeling that the NHS staff aren't valued and I thought this would be a great way to boost the morale and send a message of support from the country.'

She added of the choir's win: 'We're just elated. I'm just so happy for all of those people working on Christmas day, hopefully they can hear the song on the radio, in hospitals, what a morale booster.

Ms Nerva said everyone involved in the single was taken aback by Bieber's unexpected tweets.

'We're a grassroots campaign, we're a group of NHS staff who started this campaign and to find out eight weeks later that Justin Bieber is getting behind you, it was incredible,' she said.

Other notable contenders for the Christmas No 1 included unsigned grime act Stormzy, who hijacked the Christmas Top 10 landing at Number 9 following his #ShutUpForXmasNo1 social media campaign, and X Factor winner, Louisa Johnson, who finished in 12th place with Forever Young.

BBC RADIO 1 DJ GREG JAMES'S TOUCHING LINK TO LEWISHAM HOSPITAL

For Greg James, announcing the Christmas No 1 was a particularly special moment.

Announmcent: The Radio DJ announced on the airwaves that the choir had won the Christmas No 1 spot

He wrote: 'I know my mum and dad are greatly appreciative of the work that Lewisham hospital did for me because 30 years ago today I came home quite a poorly baby and I was saved by some blood transfusions thanks to the people at Lewisham hospital.

'It's a pleasure to announce that this is the official Number One of 2015.'

James's tweet had been 'liked' more than 1,300 times late yesterday afternoon.